Related papers: Extragalactic Globular Cluster Systems: A new Pers…
We use the kinematics of discrete tracers, primarily globular clusters (GCs) and planetary nebulae (PNe), along with measurements of the integrated starlight to explore the assembly histories of early type galaxies. Data for GCs and stars…
A major problem in extragalactic astronomy is the inability to distinguish in a robust, physical, and model independent way how galaxy populations are related to each other and to their formation histories. A similar, but distinct, and also…
The basic ingredients of models for the internal dynamics of globular clusters are reviewed, with an emphasis on the description of equilibrium configurations. The development of progressive complexity in the models is traced, concentrating…
Star clusters - open and globulars - experience dynamical evolution on time scales shorter than their age. Consequently, open and globular clusters provide us with unique dynamical laboratories for learning about two-body relaxation, mass…
Globular clusters (GCs) are evolved stellar systems containing entire populations of millisecond pulsars (MSPs), which are efficient gamma-ray emitters. Observations of this emission can be used as a powerful tool to explore the dynamical…
I present a brief review of the stellar population properties of massive galaxies, focusing on early-type galaxies in particular, with emphasis on recent results from the ATLAS3D Survey. I discuss the occurrence of young stellar ages, cold…
The semi-analytic theory of tidal shocks proves to be a powerful tool to study tidal interactions of star clusters and satellite galaxies with their massive hosts. New models of the globular cluster evolution employ a combination of…
We confirm and extend our previous detection of a population of intergalactic globular clusters in Abell 1185, and report the first discovery of an intergalactic globular cluster in the nearby Virgo cluster of galaxies. The numbers, colors…
It is widely accepted that stars do not form in isolation but result from the fragmentation of molecular clouds, which in turn leads to star cluster formation. Over time, clusters dissolve or are destroyed by interactions with molecular…
Globular clusters produce orders of magnitude more millisecond pulsars per unit mass than the Galactic disk. Since the first cluster pulsar was uncovered twenty years ago, at least 138 have been identified - most of which are binary…
We present the serendipitous discovery of 195 extragalactic globular clusters (GCs) in one of the deepest optical images ever obtained, a 126 orbit HST/ACS imaging study of the nearby Galactic GC NGC 6397. The distant GCs are all found…
Rich clusters of galaxies, the largest virialized systems known, provide a powerful tool for the study of cosmology. Some of the fundamental questions that can be addressed with clusters of galaxies include: how did galaxies and large-scale…
I assess the similarities and differences between the star-formation modes in quiescent spiral galaxies versus those in violent starburst regions, including galactic nuclei. As opposed to the quiescent star-formation mode, current empirical…
There is compelling observational evidence that globular clusters (GCs) are quite complex objects. A growing body of photometric results indicate that the evolutionary sequences are not simply isochrones in the observational plane -as…
Early-type dwarfs (dEs) are by far the most abundant galaxy population in nearby clusters. Whether these objects are primordial, or the recent end-products of the different physical mechanisms that can transform galaxies once they enter…
Globular clusters were thought to be simple stellar populations, but recent photometric and spectroscopic evidence suggests that the clusters' early formation history was more complicated. In particular, clusters show star-to-star abundance…
Young clusters are observed to form in a variety of interacting galaxies and violent starbursts, a substantial number resembling the progenitors of the well-studied globular clusters in mass and size. By studying young clusters in merger…
Populations of young star clusters show significant differences even among "normal" disk galaxies. In this contribution I discuss how properties of young cluster systems are related to those of their host galaxies, based on a recent study…
In spite of significant recent and ongoing research efforts, most of the early evolution and long-term fate of young massive star clusters remain clouded in uncertainties. Here, I discuss our understanding of the initial conditions of star…
A galaxy's orientation is one of its most basic observable properties. Astronomers once assumed that galaxies are randomly oriented in space, however it is now clear that some have preferred orientations with respect to their surroundings.…